Le Local - Nice

When in Nice, Do What the Romans Do
The Italian border is only a blink away from Nice so there's plenty of Italian food to choose from.  Dodo saw this spot on a quiet alley tucked away from the tourists and started interviewing one of the waiters.  This is a signal for me to sit, which I did but I'd already scanned the daily specials and secretly chosen the pumpkin risotto with pork sausage.  When I didn't open the menu she became suspicious but I beat her to the punch "Dodo, you gonna get the risotto?"  "Nah" she responded with a wrinkled nose "it has pumpkin."  I knew I'd be later sharing half of it - and when it arrived she ooohed and ahhhed and plunged a fork in without asking permission.  After she chewed for a second she said  "Babe, are we gonna do a half and half share?"

No complaints, her porchetta with mushrooms was delicious.  The risotto stuck in my mind, however.  I don't have a good memory but I can't think of a better one.  The rice was tender but still had a bit of bite to it and the pork sausage was the perfect additive.  What made it outstanding was the balsamic vinegar drizzled at the edges.  I'd not had risotto with balsamic vinegar but now that I have, I doubt I can ever go backwards.

The tiramisu was delivered in a jar so we knew it was going to be more like a pudding than a cake and we weren't disappointed.  It was light like the one at Gusto and I tried to get Dodo to crown one or the other but she wouldn't.  The cake was waiting at the bottom of the jar and when we hit it we "mmmmmddddd" and 'ahhhhhddddd" all over again.

It's a long, narrow place with counter down one side and tables down the other.  Some men were playing cards in the room on the left, which made it feel all the more like the south of France.

We sat outside in the sun, taking a guilty pleasure in having escaped the nasty chilled winds of Paris for the weekend.

4, rue Rusca
Nice
France

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